“It was absolutely awful. It would in no way cure or treat the shortage of care. Unfortunately, the Conciliation Board does not understand how serious the shortage of nurses is in our society. comments Rytkönen.
Both Tehy and Super, he revealed, decided yesterday to begin preparations for their next transfer of the dispute – a mass separation – and are ready to take action at the earliest after other municipal sector collective bargaining is completed and social and health professionals are transferred to welfare provinces at the turn of the year.
“We nurses are in no hurry in this situation. We reserve our time. We’re not making a bad deal, he said. “Let’s see when an employer wants to buy us peace of mind.”
Elina PylkkänenThe chairman of the board, appointed by the Minister of Labor Tuula Haatainen (SDP), admitted that he was disappointed that only two unions approved the proposal in addition to the RK.
“We will not make a decision on how to proceed from here, but we will show the Minister how things are, who accepted and who rejected. [the proposal]and the minister will decide how to proceed, “he said when asked about the next steps in the conciliation process.
– The matter is now entirely between the parties, and the Conciliation Committee is no longer commenting on the matter.
The proposal would have defined working conditions in municipalities and welfare services for the next three years and increased the average wage by a total of 5.1% over the next five years, in addition to general wage increases.
The increases would not necessarily have been evenly distributed among workers, as the proposal allowed for a local division to “manage labor shortages” and “reform wage structures”.
Although the program included a five-year salary plan in line with union requirements, the proposed increases were significantly lower than those required by nurses ’unions.
Tehy and Super have called for a five-year program that guarantees annual pay increases that are 3.6 percentage points higher than the general increases. The Ministry of Finance estimates that such an increase would cost € 3.7 billion a year at the end of the five-year period.
The municipal sector employs about 425,000 people.
KT describes the demands as exceptionally high, recalling that labor costs could increase by as much as EUR 1 billion thanks to wage harmonization in the context of social and health reform.
“What do you mean you can’t afford them,” Rytkönen replied. “Can you afford not to pay in the midst of a shortage of care like this? We are solving a big societal problem, so the question is whether we can afford not to pay.
Paavola transferred the charge to the government.
“Only the Finnish state can provide funding,” he said. Cost estimates can improve working conditions and create sensible ways of working in some areas, but the question is when will the Finnish government wake up to a total shortage of nurses or is it really thinking that if you are sick, you are not fit for society and if you are old or disabled?
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page